‘Women In Trades’ to launch with the goal of attracting more women to long male-dominated careers

With Stats Canada reporting that just 7.9 percent of trade jobs were held by women in 2024, a local initiative is aiming to boost that number by positioning the trades as an exciting and viable career option.

Women In Trades will launch Wednesday, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., at the Habitat ReStore on Lakefield Road. Jointly hosted by the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Home Builders’ Association and a committee promoting women in trades, the event will feature networking, mentorship and inspiration for those women looking at the trades as a career.

Committee chair Andria Molyneaux, the founder and owner of Haliburton-based ACM Designs, says the event is all about presenting the trades as a profession of choice as opposed to a profession of default.

Molyneaux says there’s no shortage of women in our area who have thrived working in the trades.

Molyneaux says there have been obstacles, real and imagined, to women entering the trades, but such barriers aren’t the issue they once were.

Those planning to attend the launch are asked to register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdZzDa-p9qxHqvGLAkK0OmhWhqZ6T9d7dKaxoD852fUNFN5EA/viewform.

(Written by: Paul Rellinger)